GNA seizes a ship transporting Aviation fuel from UAE to Haftar

The Libyan National Accord Government (GNA) forces announced that they have seized a ship transporting Aviation fuel for the war criminal militia, Khalifa Haftar, from the Emirates.

Brigadier-General Reda Issa, commander of the naval combat hub of the “Volcano Anger” operation, said in a statement that the coast guard and port security seized the vessel at sea, which bears the name “Golf Petroleum 4”, and raises the flag of Liberia, according to the media center of the operation.

Issa added that the results of the investigations into the ship will be published as soon as it is completed.

And condemned the Libyan National Oil Corporation, last Monday, illegal imports of aviation fuel from the Emirates, carried out by the eastern region, which is under the control of Haftar, during the past days.

The Foundation said, in a statement, that the arrival of a fuel shipment to the port of Benghazi (east) represents a clear violation of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Libya (since 2011), and is in violation of the exclusive right of the National Petroleum Corporation, internationally agreed upon, with regard to operations Fuel import.

She explained that the shipment arrived in Benghazi, coming from the Emirates, on the ship “Gulf Petroleum 4”.

Libyans accuse the UAE of supporting Haftar’s forces with arms, money and fighters to serve its interests in the oil-rich country, which Abu Dhabi usually denies.

Libya is suffering from armed conflict, as the forces of Haftar, the internationally recognized government, the GNA, have contested legitimacy and authority, and since April 4, they have launched an offensive to control the capital, Tripoli (west), the seat of government.

Recently the International Campaign to Boycott the Emirates (ICBU) recently called on the United Nations to impose sanctions on the United Arab Emirates for violating the arms embargo to Libya in support of armed militias outside the law.

The Paris-based international campaign said that the United Nations should take serious positions towards the UAE in light of the complaint submitted by the internationally recognized government of national reconciliation in Libya to the International Human Rights Council.

According to the complaint presented by the Prime Minister of the National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, in his speech to the Human Rights Council, the UAE has transported 6,200 tons of weapons and ammunition to Khalifa Haftar’s forces through 100 flights since last January.

The international campaign indicated that the UAE is the first suspect in smuggling and supporting the rebels against the officially recognized government in Libya, where a United Nations report previously accused Abu Dhabi of sending weapons to Haftar’s forces to support them in an attempt to overthrow the legitimate government.

The forces of the Libyan National Accord government revealed that “100 flights were launched from Emirati military bases carrying weapons to the forces of retired Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar since the announcement of the ceasefire on January 12.”

The government explained that the 100 flights transported 6,200 tons of weapons from the Emirates to Haftar, within 43 days from January 12 until Sunday evening, noting that the flights were launched from the “Sweihan Air Force Base” in the UAE and the “UAE” Assab Air Base “in Eritrea.

The arms export to Libya violates UN Resolution 1970 issued in March 2011, while an UN report issued in June 2017 stated that “the UAE provided combat helicopters and warplanes to Haftar forces, in violation of the UN arms embargo to Libya.”

The International Campaign to Boycott the Emirates (ICBU) called for serious and effective international pressure on the Emirates to end its military intervention in Libya and to end the financing of armed militias that are entities parallel to the authority of the legitimate government in the country.

It also urged the imposition of international sanctions on the UAE on the grounds of its involvement in supporting war crimes against civilians in Libya, including the imposition of a comprehensive boycott and the cessation of any sales of weapons and military equipment to Abu Dhabi as a victory for the Libyan victims.

It is noteworthy that the international campaign to boycott the Emirates was launched in 2017 in light of the endless violations of human rights practiced by the UAE, in addition to the war crimes committed in Yemen and violations of the rights of workers, in addition to the fact that the UAE is the center of modern slavery.

Early this month, recent photos of military vehicles of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar showed that the Emirates provided the Libyan general with military mechanisms that had not previously participated in the confrontations in Libya.

This further complicates the Libyan war and pushes the UAE to the fore as a torchbearer in the troubled African country for nearly a decade.